Short term health insurance plans are underwritten by Golden Rule Insurance Company, a UnitedHealthcare Company, which has been offering short term insurance for more than 30 years. Golden Rule is committed to the short term health products it offers, and those products provide access to UnitedHealthcare's large provider networks.
Golden Rule Insurance Company
Short term health insurance plans are underwritten by Golden Rule Insurance Company, a UnitedHealthcare Company, which has been offering short term insurance for more than 30 years. Golden Rule is committed to the short term health products it offers, and those products provide access to UnitedHealthcare's large provider networks.
Short Term Health Insurance Overview
If you’re between jobs, or you’ve missed the open enrollment period for Obamacare, or you simply find that you cannot afford a major medical / ACA plan because you do not qualify for a subsidy, a short term insurance plan may help you cover your medical expenses. Golden Rule Insurance Company, which became part of UnitedHealthcare in 2003, underwrites several different short term plans, with benefit levels for almost any need or budget.
HealthNetwork’s Review and Ratings of Short Term Plans Offered by Golden Rule:
29State OfferingsNumber of States
BMarketing ScoreA – F Grade
GoodPlan ValuePoor, Good, Excellent
9.3Trust ScoreOut of 10
State Offerings
Golden Rule offers short term plans in 29 states across the country.
There are five states in the country that prohibit any carrier from offering a health insurance product that has an underwriting process and a limited term (less than annual term) to its residents, which means no carrier can offer a short term health insurance plan in these states. Those states are: Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Marketing Score
Golden Rule received a B on HealthNetwork’s Review and Ratings’ Marketing Score Category. Generally consumers should find Golden Rule’s marketing practices passive and not aggressive or imposing and you will not likely feel disappointment or frustration when you are interacting with a Golden Rule licensed agent or applying for a short term plan on Golden Rule’s website UHOne.com.
Customers should note that Golden Rule has a $4.00 recurring, monthly fee that it adds to the premium price, which they only disclose before the consumer completes the application. It also has a one-time, application fee of $20.00 that it charges customers, which is first discloses on the plan details page.
Plan Value
Golden Rule’s short term health insurance plans are considered a Good Value on the Plan Value Category, which means that customers should feel like they are getting a good health insurance plan with a good value for the cost.
Some Golden Rule short term plans have a maximum $2 Million, which means that if you have a catastrophic medical event that incurs hundreds of thousands or even a million dollars in medical bills, you don’t have to worry about hitting your lifetime limits under select Golden Rule short term plans and having to pay for the bills entirely out-of-pocket.
If a consumer is concerned about how an unexpected medical bill will affect their budget, Golden Rule also offers short term plans with three different deductible tiers under $10,000 per term and they offer plans with a maximum out-of-pocket requirement of as little as $5,000 a term.
One negative of the Golden Rule online research and plan review process on UHOne.com is that there is no easy and apparent way to review the in-network doctor directory for each plan.
Trust Score
Golden Rule scored a 9.3 out of 10, under HealthNetwork’s Review and Ratings’ Trust Score Category, which means that customers should find the Golden Rule brand and their product offerings one of the most trustworthy and reliable.
UnitedHealth Group is ranked fifth on the 2018 Fortune 500 list company and is considered the largest healthcare company in the world. It is also a publicly traded entity with over 200,000 employees worldwide.
About UnitedHealthcare, Golden Rule Insurance Company
UnitedHealthcare is part of a family of companies that makes up UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 50 company. That means it is one of the 50 largest companies and the largest health insurer in the United States.
The UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual division of UnitedHealthcare offers health benefit plans and services to many customers, from national employers and mid-sized and small businesses to individuals and even military service members in some case. UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual provides access to to medical services for approximately 27 million people. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare also offers access to care through approximately 1.2 million physicians and other health care professionals and 6,500 hospitals and other facilities (according to the UnitedHealth Group Annual Form 10-K for year ending 12/31/2017).
UnitedHealthcare individual insurance products, like short term health insurance, are underwriter by Golden Rule Insurance Company. Golden Rule had served the insurance needs of individuals and their families for decades before UnitedHealthcare purchased them in 2003. Shopping UnitedHealthcare individual insurance products underwritten by Golden Rule means you’re browsing products supported by over 75 years of personal insurance experience.
According to the UnitedHealthcare website, A.M. Best has given the company an A (or Excellent) rating. (Ratings as of 8/3/2017. This worldwide, independent organization reviews insurance companies and other businesses and publishes opinons about them. This rating is an indication of financial strength and stability. For the latest rating, access www.ambest.com.)
UnitedHealthcare and Short Term Health Insurance
Golden Rule Insurance Company, which underwrites the short term health insurance plans, became part of UnitedHealthcare in 2003. It has been offering short term insurance for more than 30 years. Because of Golden Rule’s long history in short term health insurance, you can be sure that they are not exploiting a new trend or trying to create a new insurance market. The company is committed to the short term health products it offers, and those products provide access to UnitedHealthcare’s large provider network.
Short Health Insurance Term Plan Availability
Golden Rule underwrites several different short term plans. Each of the plans offers different deductibles, copayments and maximums. All plans include doctors visits and urgent care visits and emergency room visits. Covered services also may include outpatient surgery, labs, X-rays and hospital care. You can choose coverage that lasts from 30 days to less than three months. In some states, plans may only be available for one to two months. Plan availability will vary based on where you live and other factors, including health history.